Council ignored low-cost alternative before it went to court

Dublin City Council ignored a low-cost alternative before it went to the High Court and incurred hefty legal bills attempting to overturn the findings of an investigation by a political ethics body.

The case centred on the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) Commission’s finding that current Lord Mayor Oisín Quinn inadvertently breached the Ethics Act when he voted on a motion that affected an office block he owned with his family.

The council emphatically lost its judicial review application in the High Court and was told it had presented no evidence to support its main complaint.